Earning Joy
by 41 Books of Me
Summary: He had alwyas wondered. If joy is earned through pain and hard work, then why doesn't he have it? He had experienced more pain than probably anyone. Could she help?
1. Chapter 1

Hey it's me. I'm gonna try and make a multi-chaptered story. I think I figured out how. So yeah. On with the story.

I do not own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Today was Naruto's birthday. He was turning five! It was a very joyous occasion….for the villagers. They were enjoying a day full of torturing the poor five year old. He couldn't leave his apartment for fear of being impaled and he couldn't leave his spot in the corner because he would then be in the range of the bricks that were flying through his windows.

Naruto's birthday ended happily in the end as he survived another torture fest from the villagers and even made it out without a scratch. He smiled to himself. Another day of training accomplished. He was going to be hokage. He needed to train as much as he could. Survival was a ninja skill, so it was decided—by him—that surviving the attacks the villagers made was training.

Naruto's smile disappeared as a thought entered his head. He had once been told that joy was earned through pain and hard work. If that was true, then why wasn't he happy and joyful like the other villagers? He probably felt twice the pain any of them had ever felt. It made no sense to him. Naruto decided to not think about it anymore and went to bed.

One chapter finished. Hope I can finish the whole story soon. Please review.


	2. Chapter 2

Well here's chapter two. The chapters are short because I'm not good with multi-chapter stories yet.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 2

It was Naruto's first day at the academy. Old man third had said that it was a good thing if he became a shinobi because it might let him gain friends. He liked the idea of that. He was really lonely.

As Naruto entered the room he was assigned to, he heard all of the talking quiet down. Soon people were whispering loud enough for Naruto to hear, but quiet enough that the teacher couldn't.

"Isn't that the boy our parents are always telling us to stay away from?" He heard someone ask.

"Yeah. I'm surprised he's here. He can't seriously be trying to become a ninja," another person whispered in response. At this, Naruto's confidence began to fade. How was he supposed to make friends if everyone was so cruel to him?

The bell rang and everyone scurried for a seat. Naruto began to leave the classroom before being stopped by a tall man with a scar on his nose and a hair that was pulled back into a spiky pony tail.

"Oh hello," the man greeted. "You must be the new student, Naruto. I'm Iruka. I'll be your teacher." Iruka noticed Naruto beginning to shrink and try to squeeze past him.

"Now don't worry," Iruka reassured little 10 year old Naruto. "I'm not going to hurt you. I'm your teacher. I just want you to become a skilled shinobi." Iruka knew who Naruto was. He could recognize him anywhere. Everyone could. He wasn't angry at Naruto and he didn't blame Naruto for anything the demon fox that was sealed in him had done.

"Come on. It's time for class." Iruka held out his hand and Naruto took it cautiously. He then led Naruto into the room. As he walked in, Naruto stayed completely out of sight while still holding his hand.

"Now class. We have a new student. His name is Naruto. I expect you to treat him with respect. Do you hear me? Good. Come on out Naruto." Iruka lightly pulled Naruto out from behind him. "Why don't you go sit by Sakura Haruno? I'm sure she'll treat you kindly. She's the pink haired one." Naruto did see her. She looked amazing in his eyes. Like an angel straight from Heaven.

Naruto slowly walked over to the seat next to Sakura and sat down. She turned towards him and smiled.

"Hello, Naruto. I'm Sakura. It's nice to meet you." Naruto smiled back at her.

"H-hello Sakura-chan…"Naruto greeted shyly. He received a punch to the top of the head.

"Don't call me that! I don't want Sasuke-kun thinking I'm taken." With that, Sakura turned away from Naruto. Naruto frowned. He couldn't even keep the attention of a nice girl. He was doomed.

What Naruto didn't notice was another pair of blue eyes watching him with curiosity and slight attraction. Naruto had gained a secret admirer that day.

Hope you liked this chapter. Chapter 3 will be up when I finish it. Please review.


	3. Chapter 3

Well here's chapter 3.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 3

It was finally here. His third graduation exam. All he needed to do was pass this exam and he would be a fully fledged shinobi. He just hoped he wouldn't mess up too bad.

As Naruto entered the room, two blue eyes immediately turned in his direction. They watched him carefully, noticing every bounce of his hair and blink of his eyes. They never left his form.

"Ino. You're doing it again," a voice distracted the pair of eyes. Ino turned towards the speaker to see Shikamaru looking ahead with his head on his arms.

"Why should you care? It has nothing to do with you," Ino responded as she turned away, trying to hide her blush at being caught. She didn't understand why Shikamaru always had to interrupt her during her Naruto watching. It was the best part of her day.

"I don't know," Shikamaru answered tiredly. "I guess I just don't want little princess's class rank to go down."

"Shut up! I don't let anyone know because I don't want other girls to notice how amazing he is," Ino huffed in annoyance. Why couldn't Shikamaru understand?

All of this happened while Naruto was asking Sakura out on a date. He only got punched into a wall again, but Naruto thought it was worth it, even as he slowly slid down the wall to the floor.

Ino saw this and began to stand up to head down to Naruto. Shikamaru restrained her with one arm.

"Don't go unless you can admit to the class that you like him," he instructed. Ino pushed her way past him anyway. She quickly descended the stairs to Naruto's form.

"You okay?" Ino asked worriedly. Naruto looked up at the sound of the feminine voice. Why was someone asking that? No one cared what happened to him. Especially not girls. What he saw surprised him. There stood one of the most extreme Sasuke fan-girls, Ino Yamanaka. What would she care about him for? He was the class clown. The idiot. Why would one of the better students show any respect to him.

"I'm fine," Naruto grunted cautiously. He didn't want to make her mad. She had to have at least half of the temper that Sakura had, and that was a lot.

"Well can I help you to your seat?" Naruto's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Sure I guess." Ino stood up and held out her hand. Naruto took it and got up to his feet. He then thanked her and walked back to his seat. Ino followed him to make sure that he got there without getting hurt again.

"Hey Ino-pig! What are you doing with Naruto-baka?!" a voice screamed from two feet away. Ino froze. She knew that voice. It was Sakura. Ino began to get angry.

"Shut up forehead! Can't I help another student?! Especially one you punched into a wall?!" Ino then stormed to her seat. Shikamaru looked at her with an I-told-you-so smirk. Ino gave him a whack on the head. "Don't say anything or I'll whack you harder next time."

Naruto sat at his seat thinking. Ino was nice. That was an odd thing for him to think. Normally Ino was cruel. Why would she help him? Naruto couldn't fathom the idea. He just decided that he liked nice Ino. She was someone he could be friends with. A smile crossed Naruto's lips. He truly was earning his joy.


	4. Chapter 4

Well here's chapter four. Not much to say. Oh and to whoever put the review about attention span of a monkey's butt or whatever, come on. This is my first chaptered story. I'm not gonna make the chapters that long. I'll do that in later stories.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 4

Naruto sat alone in the forest. He was reading a large scroll and was in deep concentration. He had failed the graduation exam again and had been depressed earlier today. That was when he talked to Mizuki-sensei. He was told that there was another way to pass the exam. All he had to do was get that scroll. So he did. That was why he was in the forest in the middle of the night.

A loud crash and muttered cursing were the things that woke Ino up that night. She quickly descended the stairs to find her father struggling with his ninja attire. He seemed to be in a hurry.

"Dad what are you doing?" Ino asked tiredly. She was wide awake when Inoichi responded.

"That damn brat, Naruto ran off with the scroll of sealing. Gotta go find him so he can be punished. Maybe he'll finally be executed like he should have been."

"Oh ok," Ino said in an outwardly calm voice. She then went back to her room. She put on her ninja attire and waited five minutes after the door closed before leaving the house. She had to go find Naruto before anyone else did.

"Naruto!" an angry voice yelled from across the forest clearing. Naruto looked up and saw Iruka standing there with a disappointed scowl. Naruto quickly tried to make him happier.

"Look Iruka-sensei. I learned the first jutsu in this scroll! Now you can pass me on the exam!" Iruka's scowl turned into a confused eyebrow raise.

"Who told you that?"

"Mizuki-sensei did!"

"That's right, and now I'm gonna take that scroll. Give it here Naruto."

"Don't do it Naruto! He tricked you."

Naruto didn't know what to do. He started running. Iruka smiled. Naruto would protect that scroll with his life. He was a good ninja. Suddenly he felt a sharp pain in his back. He reached back to pull out one of Mizuki's giant shuriken. Iruka hit his knees.

"Just die here," Mizuki commanded. "I've got a demon to kill and a scroll to steal."

Naruto stood behind a tree. He had heard what Mizuki said. What did he mean by demon to kill? There were no demons. Naruto quickly ran out to help Iruka. He smiled when he was scolded for coming back.

"You know it's better that I did." Naruto laughed. Naruto then asked the big question. "What did Mizuki-sensei mean when he said he had a demon to kill?"

"I meant you. You're the container of the Kyuubi. Maybe if I kill you, I'll become a hero." With that Mizuki's second giant shuriken went flying through Naruto. Except Naruto poofed out of existence when it hit.

"Hey Mizuki-sensei! I didn't tell you about the new jutsu I learned." This was said as Naruto walked out from behind a tree. He was followed by thousands of other Narutos stepping out of their hiding places. "Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

About two minutes later, Mizuki was laying on the ground bleeding all over. Naruto smiled.

"I guess I went overboard…Iruka-sensei. What did he mean when he said I was the Kyuubi's container? Wasn't the Kyuubi killed?" Iruka looked down.

"No Naruto…it was sealed into a new born baby….you….." Tears began to slide down Naruto's face.

"That's why everyone hates me. Because I'm a monster." Naruto's words got caught in his throat when Iruka hugged him.

"No you're not. You're a shinobi of Konohagakure. You're a certified gennin." Naruto pulled back from Iruka.

"REALLY?!"

"Yep. I'll even treat you to ramen tonight to celebrate." They were suddenly interrupted by the sound of running footsteps.

"NARUTOOOOOOOOO!" Naruto and Iruka turned to see what the noise was. They didn't see anything because Naruto was tackled before they could. Naruto dazedly looked down to see a crying Ino holding on to him for dear life.

"I was so scared the villagers were going to find you before I did! I thought you were going to die! I was so scared! Don't you dare do that ever again! Do you hear me?!" Ino rambled. Naruto began to panic. He didn't know what to do.

"Okay, okay. I won't." Ino tears began to slow down, but didn't stop.

"Good," she said. "Now I'm taking you back to the village to make sure you don't." Ino then stood up and began dragging Naruto by the hand back to the village. Naruto smiled. He wouldn't trade this moment for the world.

That's the end of chapter four. Please review. And no flames please.


	5. Chapter 5

Well I might finish this story pretty soon at how fast I'm posting chapters. Here's chapter 5. P.S. I may be doing skipping that skips a good amount of time in between each chapter.

I don't own Naruto

Earning Joy

Chapter 5

It was all down to this. Him and his friends had been fighting so hard to get the Teme back. For her. The girl with platinum blonde hair. He had grown to like her a lot since that day when he learned about what was sealed inside him. They had become close friends and Naruto just suddenly felt attracted to her. He seemed to always want to be near her.

When the Teme left, she had been so sad. That's why Naruto had to get Sasuke back to Konoha. For Ino. He made a secret promise to her. It was his second promise of a life time.

That was why he was here. Standing across a The Valley of the End from Sasuke. Each of them in one of the two statues' legs. He thought about how they both had their own respected power sources. Both of them evil of course, but both of them also saving the two for most of the fight.

Naruto felt strange in the Kyuubi's chakra. It was like being surrounded by water, but still being able to breathe. He wondered what it was like to have wings. Sasuke now knew. Naruto decided that he had to try one more time to persuade Sasuke to come home.

"It doesn't have to be like this Sasuke! We can help you get stronger! You don't have to leave!"

"You're a baka like always! I'm not coming back! Being in Konoha didn't make me any stronger! That's why I'm leaving! THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!"

"Please Sasuke! There are people that care about you! Sakura, Kakashi, me, Ino!" Naruto slightly cringed when he mentioned that Ino was among those that would be crying her eyes out if he left. "The whole damn village wants you to come back! That's more than I can say…." Naruto mumbled the last part. Sasuke sneered. Why wouldn't this baka understand? He began to make the hand signs for the chidori. Naruto saw this and immediately began creating a rasengan to counter with.

The two suddenly jumped at each other over the water that was falling from the waterfall. Their attacks collided and made a giant purple sphere. They slowly floated inside of it. Each of them were remembering their pasts with the other. After thinking briefly, Sasuke jabbed Naruto in the stomach. Naruto scratched Sasuke's forehead protector in return.

The sphere began to disappear and all that was left in the end was Sasuke standing above an unconscious Naruto. He went to one knee and coughed up blood. His forehead protector fell next to Naruto's head. He stared down at Naruto for two minutes before getting up and stumbling towards Orochimaru's hide out. It would take a while.

When Naruto woke up, he was in the Konoha hospital. He looked down at his lap to find Sasuke's scratched forehead protector. Tears suddenly began flowing down Naruto's face. This was so horrible. He had broken his promises, he had let the village down, he had failed Sakura, and worst of all: he had let Ino's love escape. He failed the promise he made to the most important girl in his life. How could he live with himself? The door to his room suddenly opened. Naruto wiped his tears away as fast as he could.

"Hey how ya doin buddy?" Shikamaru asked Naruto casually. Naruto smiled. It was good to see Shikamaru.

"Not bad. Little groggy, but that'll pass." Shikamaru laughed. You could always look to Naruto for mood brightening.

"Sorry to dampen the mood, but I need to know what happened to Sasuke." Naruto frowned.

"He escaped…" Sakura suddenly bolted in as the door to the room flew out the window.

"BAAAAKAAAAAAAAA!" she yelled as she ran at Naruto and slapped him. She slapped him hard too. He flew into the unbroken window and slid to the ground. Naruto's cheek was bleeding profusely. "How could you let Sasuke-kun escape you annoying little runt?! I knew I couldn't trust you!" Naruto sat there and took it the whole time she was screaming.

"Sakura stop!" Ino yelled from the doorway. Naruto finally began to look and feel ashamed when he saw Ino. His head dropped immediately.

"Why should I?! He let Sasuke-kun escape!" Sakura glared at Naruto before looking back at Ino.

"Because it's not Naruto's fault. You and I both know this. Go home and calm down. I'll come over in a bit to talk to you." Sakura looked down ashamed. She stepped away from Naruto, apologized, and left. Ino then walked over to Naruto.

"Are you okay?" Ino asked caringly as she pulled Naruto's face up by his chin so he was looking straight at her. She wanted to see what Sakura had done to the boy. Naruto turned away quickly. Guilt was plaguing him with a vengeance.

"Yeah….." he responded silently. Ino frowned. Why was Naruto acting like this? Where was the Naruto she loved? Wait loved? When did that happen? She didn't care. She had to admit it. She loved the little guy. "I'm sorry Ino…I'll bring Sasuke back. Don't worry. I just have to train."

With that Naruto jumped out the window and escaped the hell named hospital. One small tear escaped Ino's eyes. He thought she wanted Sasuke, and he was willing to train himself into a hospital just to get him back for her….

That's the end of this chapter. Please review. No flames please.


	6. Chapter 6

Well I'm back. Sorry that the chapters aren't that long. I swear they look longer on Microsoft Word. I do want to write longer stories. I just do have troubles focusing and I run out of places to go when I reach a certain point in the chapters. I'm really trying here so please don't hate me. –Hidden 72 Monsters

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 6

Naruto sat in the hospital again. It was annoying. How much he ended up in the hospital, that is. He was happy that he saved Gaara. He just wished it didn't come with such a toll of hospital time. Well it was worth it. Gaara was just like him and he would always try to save him. He always saved his precious people. Except for one.

Naruto's thinking was interrupted as a giant toad appeared outside his window. He looked up to see his notoriously perverted sensei Jiraiya.

"Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled out excitedly. "Is it finally time to go?!" Naruto couldn't contain his excitement. He had been months for this.

"Yep. We'll be heading out tomorrow. Make sure you pack up and do everything you need to before you leave. Just meet me at the gates at around noon." The sannin announced.

"Wait!" Naruto called out before Jiraiya could disappear again. "Could we maybe leave a little earlier than that? Say 5 am?" Naruto remembered what he was thinking about. There was a person he didn't want to see before he left because he still felt ashamed about not bringing back her love.

"Sure. Just make sure you pack up everything tonight. I'm not gonna wait long for you before leaving on my own."

"I know. Don't worry. I'll be ready." With that Naruto jumped out the window and headed for his apartment.

He had packed everything he would need fairly quickly. A very lucky thing for him. He then went around town saying goodbye to every one of his friends. He didn't say goodbye to Ino. He couldn't. He could tell she still missed Sasuke. It had been hard enough seeing her on their mission to help the princess woo her prince. He decided to use a different way to say goodbye.

Naruto waited until around midnight before leaving his house. He then jumped from roof to roof until he reached the Yamanaka clan's residence. He headed to Ino's house and climbed up to her window. He was extremely lucky to find her window unlocked.

He looked around inside to make sure Ino was asleep. A small snore and a form under the blanket confirmed his hopes. Naruto then slipped into her room and taped a small note to her door. Suddenly a noise disturbed the air. The bed was creaking from someone getting up.

Naruto panicked. He wouldn't be able to get out in time. He noticed that Ino's closet was slightly open. It was just enough for him to squeeze through. He dove into the closet hoping he hadn't been seen.

"I gotta use it," Ino muttered as she apparently got up to use the restroom. He listened carefully as Ino's footsteps began to head towards the door. Then they stopped. "What's this?" she asked.

Ino found the note! Naruto began to panic. If Ino read the note now, then there was no way he would be able to leave without seeing her.

"That idiot. There's no way I'm letting him leave without saying goodbye to me in person." Ino then went to the bathroom so she could get back to bed as quickly as she could.

Naruto took the chance. He left the closet and dove out the window. He ran for home once he hit the ground. It didn't take him long to get there. He then went to bed, anxious for the morning.

Ino woke up at 5 am the next morning. There was no way in Hell, Heaven, or Earth she was letting Naruto leave without saying goodbye. She got dressed and left out her window. She began running for the front gate as soon as she hit the ground. Just like Naruto had done the night before.

Naruto and Jiraiya were all signed out and ready to leave. Naruto was bouncing on his heels.

"Let's go already!" he yelled.

"Don't you want to get a last look at the village?" Jiraiya asked surprised.

"I already got it. I'm excited to leave. Let's go." Naruto then began pushing Jiraiya up the path. The sound of running footsteps broke the silence. "Shit!" Naruto cursed as he quickly pushed Jiraiya and himself into the trees on either side of the road.

Ino stopped at the front gate. She was slightly out of breath, but still fine and ready to run again.

"I need to know about Jiraiya and Naruto. Did they leave yet?" she asked desperately.

"I'm sorry, but yes they did," the guard apologized. Ino's vision blurred. Tears were spilling down her face. Why did he leave like that? Maybe the note she got could explain. She did only read the first few sentences. That was the goodbye and what was happening.

Ino ran back home and jumped into her window. She grabbed the note and began to read.

_Dear Ino,_

_This is Naruto. I'm gonna be leaving tomorrow at around 5 am. I'm gonna miss you. This is goodbye for now._

That was where Ino stopped before. Ino kept reading on.

_Sorry that I'm not saying goodbye to you in person like with everyone else. I just couldn't face you. I feel so guilty that I broke the promise I made to myself. I knew you love Sasuke and so I promised to bring him back to you. I failed. I couldn't face you because of the guilt. Please don't hate me. I'll be back. With Sasuke too eventually. You'll just have to be patient. Don't worry. Goodbye._

_Your friend,_

_Naruto Uzumaki_

Ino couldn't believe it. That's why he didn't say goodbye to her in person? That idiot was gonna get a hard punch to the head when he got back. If he was lucky and apologized, he might also get a kiss. Ino wasn't sure, but she did like the idea. She would just have to wait.

Well I think this chapter was pretty good. Please no flames if you're going to review.


	7. Chapter 7

What do you all think of the story so far? Please tell me. I like to hear about it. This is gonna be a short chapter. Just stating what's happening now that Naruto's back.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 7

Ino knew Naruto would be back soon. That made her excited. He had promised to bring her Sasuke-kun back to her after all. Why wouldn't she be excited?

Ino had given up on Naruto while he was gone. It seemed he didn't like her back, so it would be best not to chase him anymore. Since he had promised to bring Sasuke back to her, she thought he would be who she should try to woo. Thus she stopped liking Naruto.

Naruto walked through the front gates with Jiraiya. He was excited. He could finally get back to trying to get Sasuke back for Ino-chan. He had promised that he would. He had decided to give up on Ino. She didn't like him that way and all he wanted was for her to be happy.

"Come on Ero-sennin!" Naruto yelled over his shoulder. "I want to start on missions again soon!" Naruto then ran for the hokage's office.

Told ya it would be short. Yeah this is just an explaining chapter. Please review and no flames please.


	8. Chapter 8

Well here's chapter eight. This story will be ending soon. I hope everyone's liked it so far.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 8

Naruto kept walking towards the Yamanaka clan compound. He didn't care that it was raining. He needed to apologize to Ino.

He had just gotten back from his mission to the Tenchi Bridge. He had been so close to Sasuke. He had failed and he needed to apologize. He knocked on the door to Ino's house. Ino answered the door.

"Oh hello Naruto. What are you doing here?" Ino asked curiously.

"I came to apologize."

"What for? What did you do this time?"

"I was so close and I failed my promise again…" Naruto turned toward the floor.

"It's fine that Sasuke isn't back yet. You just have to keep trying. I do want him back before I'm 30 though, so don't take too long."

"Thanks for understanding…goodbye." Naruto then walked away as Ino closed the door. He was going to get Sasuke back if it was the last thing he did.

Sorry for such a short chapter. I wanted to have at least 10 chapters and so I needed chapter eight to not be where chapter 9 will be. Yep. Please review.


	9. Chapter 9

Well here's chapter 9. Please enjoy.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 9

Naruto was helping Kakashi fight Kakuzu. Hidan lay in a hole in the ground that had been collapsed. All they had to do was destroy the last of Kakuzu's extra hearts and get a good attack in on him. Naruto planned to use his newest jutsu to do the job. Any variation of the rasengan was a good attack to use. He just wanted to try his newest one out.

The earth jutsu heart had been destroyed and now there were only 3 left. Fire, water, and lightning. Sounded easy enough. Took twice as much effort.

Naruto and Kakashi teamed up as Naruto attacked the lightning mask with a rasengan and Kakashi destroyed the water mask with a chidori. All they had to destroy now, was the fire heart.

Naruto began charging up his wind style: rasen shuriken. He trusted Kakashi to take care of the final heart. It would take a while to charge up, but it would be worth it to kill this bastard. Give him a few more seconds and he would be ready to hit Kakuzu into a pulp of thread.

He turned to Kakashi to check how he was doing. It wasn't going well for him. Naruto saw him dodge a fireball. The only problem with that was that it was now flying towards Ino's turned back. She was dodging attacks from Kakuzu and wasn't able to see the fireball. Kakuzu was though and jumped back as if he needed to rest.

Naruto didn't know what to do. He couldn't attack Kakuzu or Ino would die, but he couldn't protect Ino or Kakuzu would attack her. He didn't know what to do. Naruto froze. This was a rasen shuriken. Didn't that mean…? He could throw it! That's exactly what he did. He threw it at Kakuzu and then ran for Ino. Chakra enforced his steps and made it behind her before the fireball hit. As he fell to the ground, he heard Kakuzu scream and hit the ground dead. Success.

Naruto hit the ground with a loud thud and immense pain in his face, chest, and legs as that was the way he fell. He heard a gasp, and then all he could see was Ino's face. Nothing could be better than getting to see her face and her face alone.

"Why did you take that hit? It was meant for me. For God's sake you look like a burnt log," Ino rambled.

"Completely worth it," Naruto whispered in return.

"Why?" Ino asked again as tears began to drop on Naruto's face.

"Because I love you." Naruto smiled and then proceeded to pass out. Ino began crying even harder. All those feelings she had been hiding since Naruto's training trip came back. In full force too.

"I love you too you baka. I can't live without you. Don't leave me." Ino began yelling. "Help! Help! I need to get Naruto to the hospital!" Ino was holding Naruto to her almost like he was a baby. She had her arms wrapped around his torso. Her right arm was supporting his head and her left arm was held around and under his lower back.

"Come back," she whispered with her forehead pressed to his. She let go when Kakashi picked Naruto up and began walking him to the hospital. Ino never left Naruto's side or let go of his hand for the whole walk to the hospital.

Naruto had been in the room with no visitors allowed for the last two hours. Ino hadn't left the hospital for the last two hours. After another three hours, Tsunade finally walked out of Naruto's hospital room. She looked like she had been crying for the whole time she had been healing Naruto.

"How is he Tsunade-sama?" Ino asked worriedly.

"He's fine. He should be awake by tomorrow. Visiting hours are over. You should get home." Tsunade wasn't asking, she was ordering.

"But-" Ino didn't get to finish. She was unconscious and over Tsunade's shoulder in no time.

Ino woke up the next morning confused and worried. She didn't know how she got in her room, but she needed to get back to the hospital as fast as she could.

Naruto was awake in the hospital, wishing he was dead. He thought he was going to die. That was why he told Ino he loved her. He was such an idiot. She loved Sasuke. Not him. He was dead when Ino got to his room. He knew she would show up. It was common sense.

Ino was in the waiting room. She quickly asked what room Naruto was in and began heading that way.

Naruto could sense Ino's chakra coming towards him. He began struggling to escape. He wasn't able to get up. Did they tie him up again? If so, why couldn't he tell? He looked down. Ninja wire. That explained it.

The door started to open and Naruto began struggling again. He saw a head of platinum blonde hair poke into the room. He was so dead.

Well cliffy, cliffy, cliffy. You'll be told how it goes next chapter. Please review and no flames.


	10. Chapter 10

May the cliff hanger be lifted and the anxiety killed! Please enjoy this new and hopefully last chapter. If there's another one, then it's kind of an excess story from the future or it's just because I added something extra. Yep.

I don't own Naruto.

Earning Joy

Chapter 10

Ino popped her head in the door to find Naruto struggling against air to get out of bed. She couldn't help but laugh. It looked so comical. Naruto looked up at her with fear and sorrow. He hadn't been able to escape in time. He was dead.

"Well look at little Naruto, struggling against air." Ino laughed again when Naruto glared at her. She stopped laughing when she really focused on his eyes. That wasn't anger for mocking him that was fear from her being in the room. He was scared of her. Tears began streaming down Naruto's face.

"I'm sorry!" he began screaming. "I shouldn't have said that I love you! I should've just told you that you had to live for when Sasuke came back! I'm sorry! I'm sorry." Ino couldn't watch this. It was horrible. Naruto just lay there crying and whimpering. She leaned down and hugged him.

"It's not bad that you said you love me. If you didn't tell me, then I wouldn't have remembered. I wouldn't have remembered how you're my sun on rainy days. I wouldn't have remembered that your smile always took my breath away and made my heart skip a beat. I wouldn't have remembered that you meant more to me than even me. You are my life. I can't live without you. I would die. If not physically, then mentally. I can't imagine a life without you, so don't say you're sorry for loving me, because I love you too." Ino was crying alongside Naruto at the end of her speech. She knew she was getting his shoulder wet, but it couldn't have been any wetter than her shoulder.

"You do?" Naruto asked timidly. Ino smiled. He was so cute when he was nervous.

"Of course I do." Ino wiped her eyes and became stern. "That means no more stupid stunts like that. You almost got yourself killed." Naruto wiped his eyes and smiled at Ino. Her words came back to haunt her (in a good way).

"Well I can't help, but protect you. I can't live without you either." Ino hugged Naruto's head again. After half a minute of no response she began to get mad but worried.

"Why aren't you hugging me back?" Ino asked in a sweet, but threatening voice. Naruto sweat dropped.

"They ninja wired me…..to the bed…." Ino head went down in shame.

"You need to stop breaking out of the hospital when they're treating you," Ino spoke plainly.

"Can you just cut me loose?" Naruto asked dryly. He didn't need to be lectured.

"Fine, but you can't go running off from the hospital."

"Not even for a date?" Naruto asked hopefully. Ino blushed while she was cutting the rope.

"Nope. Not even for a date." Naruto frowned. He was stuck in here and not even Ino would help him out. "Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll stay here with you."

"Okay." Naruto was happy. He finally had someone who cared about him. He had finally earned his joy.

The End

Hopefully everyone liked the end. I have to thank my friends ajzach54 and cybercorpsesnake for their constant support of the story. Thanks guys/gals. (No offense, but I don't know.) Please review. No flames please.


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